A step closer to 70%: the County opened a new mixed paper processing facility at the Recycling Center

In May 2017, the County celebrated the launch of the new Mixed Paper Processing Facility at the Recycling Center. The facility is located at 16105 Frederick Road in Derwood. Maryland Environmental Service with Colossal Contractors, a minority-owned business firm, operates the facility.

The new addition to the Recycling Facility processes approximately 200 tons of paper/cardboard per day, which is sorted and baled. The baled paper is sent domestically and internationally to be recycled into reusable materials such as cereal boxes, printer paper, paper bags, cardboard boxes and pizza boxes.

“I am proud of the new Mixed Paper Processing Facility at the Recycling Center,” said County Executive Ike Leggett. “This saves our residents money, benefits our environment by reducing waste, and has added new jobs.”

Prior to the opening of the new Mixed Paper Processing Facility, the County paid to have paper sorted, hauled, and sent to a separate recycling processing facility. The opening of the new facility makes it possible for the County to capture the revenue, which is used to offset the operations and programming costs. The annual sale revenue for the baled paper is approximately $3 million.

The mixed paper facility added nine new jobs, for a total of 57 workers employed at the Recycling Center.

“Reducing, Reusing and Recycling to continue to eliminate the waste generated in the County is a key aspect of our environmental protection program,” said Department of Environmental Protection Director Lisa Feldt. “The new Mixed Paper Processing Facility is a great addition to the Recycling Center and Transfer Station, which recycles and processes much more than paper. The new facility has an important role in helping DEP to meet our 70% recycling goal, protect and improve our land, air and water, and make our community healthier and our economy stronger.”

The County Executive, DEP Director and DEP staff at the open house for the Mixed Paper Processing Facilitiy

In addition to mixed paper sorting, the state-of-the-art Recycling Center also collects glass, cans and bottles. Residents who live on County collection routes can have their recyclables collected by placing their items in two separate bins – one designated for glass, cans and bottles and the other for mixed paper. The items are then sorted and processed at the Recycling Center.

The construction contractor for the new Mixed Paper Processing Facility was Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal. The approximate total project construction cost was $2,034,000.

The Mixed Paper Processing Facility complements the 57,000 square feet Recycling Center which opened in August 1991. Construction of an approximately 7,000 square feet addition to the Recycling Center’s tipping floor was completed in November 2001. The new building for the mixed paper processing is approximately 10,000 square feet.

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My Green Montgomery is a project of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. It is a service to help Montgomery County residents think and live in a way that safeguards and sustains the health of our people, our county, and the planet.